The Dana Interviewer Class of 2016 Table of Contents: Introduction ------------------------------------------------------ 2 Caroline Berman ------------------------------------------------------ 3 Dan Bigelow ------------------------------------------------------ 4 Dana Brodsky ------------------------------------------------------ 5 Matthew Dacher ------------------------------------------------------ 6 Tim DeRosa ------------------------------------------------------ 7 Adam Elwood ------------------------------------------------------ 8 Jon Hauptfeld ------------------------------------------------------ 10 Rachel Heist ------------------------------------------------------ 11 Tommy Hoffman ------------------------------------------------------ 12 Michael Hovan ------------------------------------------------------ 13 Brendan Huffman ------------------------------------------------------ 14 Nicole Karsch ------------------------------------------------------ 15 Richard Kormos ------------------------------------------------------ 16 Jake Levine ------------------------------------------------------ 17 Jillian Mauro ------------------------------------------------------ 18 Dan McKenna ------------------------------------------------------ 19 Emily Michaels ------------------------------------------------------ 20 Emily Nguyen ------------------------------------------------------ 21 Maxine Silver ------------------------------------------------------ 22 Shaena Singer ------------------------------------------------------ 23 Katie Skwirut ------------------------------------------------------ 24 Megan Smith ------------------------------------------------------ 25 Brittney Tuff ------------------------------------------------------ 26 Eric Quitter ------------------------------------------------------ 27 Jessica Wilson ------------------------------------------------------ 28 Honors and ------------------------------------------------------ 29 Achievements 1 The Dana Interviewer Featuring the Class of 2016 The Dana Scholars Program, made possible by the Charles A. Dana Foundation, acknowledges students who display academic potential, good character, integrity, and leadership ability through contributions both inside and outside of the classroom. Each summer, Muhlenberg College awards about thirty high school seniors with this honor, one of the most prestigious honors that the College offers. For more information, visit http://www.muhlenberg.edu/main/academics/dana-scholars/. Editors: Jake Levine ’16 and Maxine Silver ’16 Dana Program Director: Dr. Mohsin Hashim Forum Director: Dr. Jefferson Pooley Faculty Advisory Committee: Dr. Margo Hobbs Dr. Joseph Keane Dr. Jefferson Pooley Dr. Cathy Marie Ouellete Student Advisory Committee: Jessica Wilson ’16 Jonathan Walker ’18 Jillian Mauro ’16 Genevieve Wall ’18 Lara Roseto ’17 Taj Singh ’19 Alan Mendez ’17 Jamie Greenberg ’19 Alex Stavros ’17 2 Caroline Berman Written by Pierce Lockett In a school with as rich a history and reputation in theatre as any other, Caroline Berman made a choice not many underclassman make concerning her academic change of heart. “I came here as a theater major. Now I’m a biology major on the pre-vet track,” she says, chuckling quietly to herself, her laptop open after working (unsurprisingly) on yet another piece of her student based research. A Chicago native, Caroline’s Muhlenberg experience has been rather atypical given her initial field of interest. “I did stagework for a couple of shows at Muhlenberg, like On the Town and the Marriage of Figaro. I was that kid who was reading their bio textbook on the floor of the greenroom; it was pretty weird.” Yet Caroline’s budding interest in the sciences only compounded itself as time went on. In her junior year, Caroline spent time abroad in Tanzania doing research in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area studying the relationship between the abundance of certain grasses and the presence of native animals, studying overall pasture quality in one of the most widely studied ecological sites in the world. “It was honestly life changing. I knew I wanted to study abroad, and my parents also studied abroad, but it was genuinely a life altering experience,” said Caroline. “It drove me even deeper toward my love for animals and veterinary medicine, and I don’t think I would be doing quite the same thing today without it.” In addition to her time abroad, Caroline has spent a great deal of time doing research both in Muhlenberg and the surrounding area. She is currently conducting genetics research with Dr. Wightman on developmental genes in the Biology department and has previously worked internships with the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans and the Lehigh Valley Zoo, something that provided meaningful experience in the field of zoology and veterinary medicine. What Caroline has expressed the most gratitude for, however, are the day-by-day experiences that being a Dana Scholar at Muhlenberg has afforded her over the years. “The thing about the Dana Program is that there are a lot of smart people in one room, and those conversations help to foster not just academics but genuine action. Sometimes it can feel a little passive [at Muhlenberg], so I feel as though the Dana program helps to change that mindset.” That, in a sense, is the impact that the Dana Program has had on Caroline over her three and a half years at Muhlenberg by offering her impetus to do something meaningful with her education. From independently seeking her own internships to spending time abroad, Caroline has done something rarer than most students: finding something she loves. “It’s hard to explain to people that I’m not just, like, studying grass, or analyzing things for fun. There is an entire realm of ecology that needs to be studied. Sure, it’s nerdy. But I couldn’t be happier.” 3 Daniel Bigelow Written by Emma Lewis Daniel Bigelow is from Westfield, New Jersey. Dan was attracted to the small school atmosphere that Muhlenberg boasts. He also had two brothers that matriculated to the College before him, which certainly influenced his decision. Dan’s First Year Seminar class was a very worthwhile class for him to start his Muhlenberg career. The class attempted to cover some of what life is like in the inner-city for people who live in lower socio- economic classes. Dr. Brian Mello did a good job introducing the class to the struggles of living under a system that limits the upward social mobility of people in underprivileged areas, a perspective which he found lacking in his high school course load. One major role that Dan played on campus was the president of DTD for a year and a half. As the face of the fraternity, Dan has had to coordinate with Muhlenberg as well as with the national DTD organization. He views what he did like running a business. Some responsibilities of his include managing some thirty guys and their jobs, running the executive board for the chapter, and setting a vision for DTD and keeping everyone on board with their goals. “Greek life is, hands down, the most meaningful experience I’ve had at Muhlenberg.” Dan is an avid sports fan, playing football and rugby in high school, watching games with friends, and participating in intramurals with his fraternity brothers. This love of sports has fueled his passion for researching concussions over the past year. He recommends that every student, regardless of major, takes Dr. Jeremy Teissere’s Mind and Brain course , as the class provides students with a new way of thinking about consciousness and perception. Dan, under the guidance of Dr. Jeff Rudski, is currently engaged in examining professors’ willingness to be flexible with students suffering from concussions, along with a related independent study. He believes that there is a significant lack of understanding on the part of both student-athletes and professors about the implications and effects of improperly managed concussions. He hopes to someday make an impact on the way concussion treatment and education are approached. Dan said that his approach to finding a job after college is to look for a problem he’s interested in solving and finding someone who will pay him to fix it. To that end, he plans on pursuing research positions in neuroscience to get better acquainted with what gaps there are in the industry. After almost four years at Muhlenberg, Dan has some wisdom to bestow upon the next generation: get to know your professors outside of the classroom, and find something that you’re actually interested in learning rather than simply taking classes to fill requirements. Doing both of those will make your time at Muhlenberg a more worthwhile experience. 4 Dana Brodsky Written by Patrick Sockler Dana Brodsky came to Muhlenberg College from Paramus, New Jersey. Applying early decision, she knew that Muhlenberg would be the right choice for her, because of its small, yet extremely supportive community. In fact, the personal relationships that Dana was able to develop with professors due to intimate class settings became some of the most useful sources of guidance along her college career. She attended the Golda Och Academy in West Orange, New Jersey, a small Jewish Day School whose intimate academic and social settings were similar to Muhlenberg’s. In the future, she aspires to become a clinical psychologist specializing in work with children and adolescents. Dana is a Psychology major and—clearly taking advantage of the college’s liberal arts philosophy—is a Jewish Studies minor as well. The wide range of courses offered at Muhlenberg